Control Indicator for Power Saving in a Mobile Wireless Communication Device

ABSTRACT

A wireless communication device (UE) may receive control indicator information (CII) indicating whether one or more candidate physical control channels (PCCs) are available to the UE for decoding. The UE may perform respective blind decoding if the CII indicates that the one or more candidate PCCs are available, to decode a respective PCC intended for the UE. The UE may receive the CII in the same slot in which PCCs are transmitted, or it may receive the CII in another slot, which may be a narrowband slot. The UE may receive the PCCs in the same slot in which corresponding physical data channels (PDCs) are transmitted, or it may receive the PCCs in another slot, e.g. a slot immediately preceding the slot in which the corresponding PDCs are transmitted. By eliminating unnecessary blind decoding and receiving the CII over narrowband, power consumption of the UE may be greatly reduced.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/892,859 titled “Control Indicator for Power Saving in a MobileWireless Communication Device”, filed on Feb. 9, 2019 and claimingbenefit of priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.62/475,683 titled “Control Indicator for Power Saving in a MobileWireless Communication Device”, filed on Mar. 23, 2017, both of whichare hereby incorporated by reference as though fully and completely setforth herein.

The claims in the instant application are different than those of theparent application or other related applications. The Applicanttherefore rescinds any disclaimer of claim scope made in the parentapplication or any predecessor application in relation to the instantapplication. The Examiner is therefore advised that any such previousdisclaimer and the cited references that it was made to avoid, may needto be revisited. Further, any disclaimer made in the instant applicationshould not be read into or against the parent application or otherrelated applications.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present application relates to wireless communications and wirelesscommunication devices, and more particularly to the use of controlindicators for power saving in wireless communication devices, e.g.during 5G New Radio (5G-NR) communications.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

Wireless communication systems are rapidly growing in usage. In recentyears, wireless devices such as smart phones and tablet computers havebecome increasingly sophisticated. In addition to supporting telephonecalls, many mobile devices now provide access to the internet, email,text messaging, and navigation using the global positioning system(GPS), and are capable of operating sophisticated applications thatutilize these functionalities.

Long Term Evolution (LTE) has become the technology of choice for themajority of wireless network operators worldwide, providing mobilebroadband data and high-speed Internet access to their subscriber base.LTE defines a number of downlink (DL) physical channels, categorized astransport or control channels, to carry information blocks received fromthe MAC and higher layers. LTE also defines three physical layerchannels for the uplink (UL).

The Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) is a DL transport channel,and is the main data-bearing channel allocated to users on a dynamic andopportunistic basis. The PDSCH carries data in Transport Blocks (TB)corresponding to a media access control protocol data unit (MAC PDU),passed from the MAC layer to the physical (PHY) layer once perTransmission Time Interval (TTI). The PDSCH is also used to transmitbroadcast information such as System Information Blocks (SIB) and pagingmessages.

The Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) is a DL control channelthat carries the resource assignment for UEs that are contained in aDownlink Control Information (DCI) message. Multiple PDCCHs can betransmitted in the same subframe using Control Channel Elements (CCE),each of which is a nine set of four resource elements known as ResourceElement Groups (REG). The PDCCH employs quadrature phase-shift keying(QPSK) modulation, with four QPSK symbols mapped to each REG.Furthermore, 1, 2, 4, or 8 CCEs can be used for a UE, depending onchannel conditions, to ensure sufficient robustness.

The Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) is a UL channel shared by alldevices (user equipment, UE) in a radio cell to transmit user data tothe network. The scheduling for all UEs is under control of the LTE basestation (enhanced Node B, or eNB). The eNB uses the uplink schedulinggrant (DCI format 0) to inform the UE about resource block (RB)assignment, and the modulation and coding scheme to be used. PUSCHtypically supports QPSK and quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM). Inaddition to user data, the PUSCH also carries any control informationnecessary to decode the information, such as transport format indicatorsand multiple-in multiple-out (MIMO) parameters. Control data ismultiplexed with information data prior to digital Fourier transform(DFT) spreading.

The Physical Control Format Indicator Channel (PCFICH) is a DL controlchannel that carries the Control format Indicator (CFI) which includesthe number of orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) symbolsused for control channel transmission in each subframe (typically 1, 2,or 3). The 32-bit long CFI is mapped to 16 Resource Elements in thefirst OFDM symbol of each downlink frame using QPSK modulation.

Therefore, as indicated above, during data communication over LTE, theDL uses the physical channel PDSCH, while the UL uses the UL channelPUSCH. As also mentioned above, these two channels convey the transportblocks of data in addition to some MAC control and system information.To support the transmission of DL and UL transport channels, DownlinkShared Channel (DLSCH) and Uplink Shared Channel (UL-SCH) controlsignaling is needed. This control information is sent in PDCCH and itcontains DL resource assignment and UL grant information. PDCCH is sentin the beginning of every subframe in the first OFDM symbols. Dependingon the level of robustness and the PDCCH system capacity (numbers ofusers to be simultaneously served in a TTI) the NW needs to achieve,PDCCH will be transmitted in either the first 1, 2, 3, or 4 OFDM symbolsof a subframe. The number of OFDM symbols used in PDCCH is signaled inPCFICH. In order to improve operation of range constrained devicesand/or devices operating in weak coverage areas, blind decoding of thePDCCH was developed as a possible mechanism for alleviating the negativeeffects of bad reception of the PCFICH.

A proposed next telecommunications standard moving beyond the currentInternational Mobile Telecommunications-Advanced (IMT-Advanced)Standards is called 5th generation mobile networks or 5th generationwireless systems, or 5G for short (otherwise known as 5G-NR for 5G NewRadio, also simply referred to as NR). 5G-NR proposes a higher capacityfor a higher density of mobile broadband users, also supportingdevice-to-device, ultra-reliable, and massive machine communications, aswell as lower latency and lower battery consumption, than current LTEstandards. Consequently, efforts are being made in ongoing developmentsof 5G-NR to reduce a mobile device's blind decoding attempts, in orderto achieve additional power savings.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments described herein relate to a User Equipment (UE) device,base station, and/or relay station, and associated method for providinga control indicator to wireless communication devices for power savingduring wireless communications, e.g. during 5G-NR (NR) wirelesscommunications and transmissions.

In some embodiments, an indication may be transmitted to UEs (e.g. by abase station or gNB), signaling the presence of PDCCH for UEs, making itpossible for non-scheduled UEs to avoid performing unnecessary blinddecoding. The indication may be transmitted on a per-UE or per-groupbasis, depending on the design. If the indication is transmitted per-UE,then each UE in a cell may receive one indication signaling the presenceof a PDCCH for the UE. All the non-scheduled UEs which correctly decodethe indication information may avoid unnecessary blind decoding. If theindication is transmitted per-group (with a group size of at least twoUEs), then UEs in the group may all perform blind decoding when theyreceive an indication signaling the presence of a PDCCH for the group.In case of a per-group indication, there may be UEs which do not receivea PDCCH but still receive the indication. If the indication signals noPDCCH for the group, then UEs in the group may stop decoding and enter asleep state for the remaining duration of the slot. The group size andthe number of groups may be configurable.

Pursuant to the above, in some embodiments, UEs may be organized intogroups (e.g. by gNB) for the purpose of indicating the presence oravailability of a PDCCH for each group. The gNB may indicate thepresence or availability of a PDCCH to a group of UEs in case there is aPDCCH scheduled for any of the UEs in the group. The size of the groupand the number of groups may be configurable.

There may be multiple options for a physical channel structure carryingthe control indicator information. For example, existing PDCCHstructure(s) may be reused. Control indicator information may betransmitted by existing PDCCHs in common control search space monitoredby all UEs. Another option may be the use of existing group-commonPDCCHs. The control indicator information may be carried in group-commonPDCCHs for carrying common information for group of UEs. Sincegroup-common PDCCHs are transmitted in the first OFDM symbol (e.g. inthe first slot), it may be effective for preventing the UE fromperforming further processing. Yet another option includes designating anew physical channel for the purpose of transmitting the controlindicator information.

Transmission of the control indicator information may be performedaccording to a number of different scenarios based on the timing of thecontrol indicator information and the NR-PDCCH with respect to eachother, and the timing of the NR-PDCCH and the NR-PDSCH with respect toeach other. In some embodiments, the control indicator information andthe NR-PDCCH may be transmitted in the same slot, while the NR-PDCCH andthe NR-PDSCH are transmitted according to same-slot scheduling. In someother embodiments, the control indicator information and the NR-PDCCHmay be transmitted in the same slot, while the NR-PDCCH and the NR-PDSCHare transmitted according to cross-slot scheduling. In yet otherembodiments, the control indicator information and the NR-PDCCH may betransmitted in different slots, while the NR-PDCCH and the NR-PDSCH aretransmitted according to same-slot scheduling. Finally, the controlindicator information and the NR-PDCCH may be transmitted in differentslots, while the NR-PDCCH and the NR-PDSCH are transmitted according tocross-slot scheduling.

Pursuant to the above, a wireless communication device (UE) may achieveconsiderable power savings during wireless communications. The UE mayreceive, as part of the wireless communications, control indicatorinformation indicating whether one or more candidate physical controlchannels are available to the UE for decoding. If the control indicatorinformation received by the UE indicates candidate physical channels areavailable, the UE may perform blind decoding of the candidate physicalcontrol channels to detect a respective physical control channel (of thecandidate physical control channels) intended for the UE. If the controlindicator information received by the UE indicates that no candidatephysical control channels are available for decoding, the UE does notperform the blind decoding, and may enter a sleep state until the nextslot in which the UE may again be scheduled.

The UE may receive the control indicator information in a slot otherthan a corresponding slot in which the physical control channels aretransmitted. In that case, the slot in which the control indicatorinformation is received may be a narrowband slot to achieve furtherpower savings. Alternately, the UE may receive the control indicatorinformation in the same slot in which the physical control channels aretransmitted. In general, the UE may receive the control indicatorinformation over a channel that also includes other information, or itmay receive the control indicator information over a channel dedicatedto carrying the control indicator information. The dedicated channelcarrying the control indicator information may be a narrowband channel,which allows for additional power savings for the UE.

Upon detecting a respective physical control channel intended for theUE, the UE may decode a respective physical data channel correspondingto the detected decoded respective physical control channel. In thatcase, the UE may receive the respective physical control channel in aslot other than a corresponding slot in which corresponding physicaldata channels are transmitted, or it may receive the respective physicalcontrol channel in the same slot in which the corresponding physicaldata channels are transmitted. The UE may be part of a specified groupof devices, with the control indicator information received by the UEapplying to all the devices in the specified group.

This Summary is intended to provide a brief overview of some of thesubject matter described in this document. Accordingly, it will beappreciated that the above-described features are merely examples andshould not be construed to narrow the scope or spirit of the subjectmatter described herein in any way. Other features, aspects, andadvantages of the subject matter described herein will become apparentfrom the following Detailed Description, Figures, and Claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary (and simplified) wireless communicationsystem according to some embodiments;

FIG. 2 illustrates a base station in communication with a wireless userequipment (UE) device according to some embodiments;

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a UE, according to someembodiments;

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a base station,according to some embodiments;

FIG. 5 shows a block diagram illustrating same-slot scheduling andcross-slot scheduling, according to some embodiments;

FIG. 6 shows an exemplary timing diagram illustrating transmission ofcontrol indicator information in same-slot scheduling, with the controlindicator information and physical control channel transmitted in thesame slot, according to some embodiments;

FIG. 7 shows an exemplary timing diagram illustrating transmission ofcontrol indicator information in cross-slot scheduling, with the controlindicator information and physical control channel transmitted in thesame slot, according to some embodiments;

FIG. 8 shows an exemplary timing diagram illustrating transmission ofcontrol indicator information in same-slot scheduling, with the controlindicator information and physical control channel transmitted indifferent slots, according to some embodiments;

FIG. 9 shows an exemplary timing diagram illustrating transmission ofcontrol indicator information in cross-slot scheduling, with the controlindicator information and physical control channel transmitted indifferent slots, according to some embodiments; and

FIG. 10 shows a flow diagram illustrating a method for a wirelesscommunication device to perform blind decoding of physical controlchannels, according to some embodiments.

While features described herein are susceptible to various modificationsand alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way ofexample in the drawings and are herein described in detail. It should beunderstood, however, that the drawings and detailed description theretoare not intended to be limiting to the particular form disclosed, but onthe contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalentsand alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the subjectmatter as defined by the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS Acronyms

Various acronyms are used throughout the present application.Definitions of the most prominently used acronyms that may appearthroughout the present application are provided below:

-   -   ACK: Acknowledge    -   ARQ: Automatic Repeat Request (also: Automatic Repeat Query)    -   BPSK: Binary Phase-Shift Keying    -   BS: Base Station    -   CCE: Control Channel Elements    -   CFI: Control format Indicator    -   CQI: Channel Quality Indicator    -   CRC: Cyclic Redundancy Check    -   DCI: Downlink Control Information    -   DL: Downlink (from BS to UE)    -   DL-SCH: Downlink Shared Channel    -   FDD: Frequency Division Duplexing    -   FEC: Forward Error Correction    -   GPS: Global Positioning System    -   GSM: Global System for Mobile Communication    -   HARQ: Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request    -   LTE: Long Term Evolution    -   MAC: Media Access Control (layer)    -   MIMO: Multiple-In Multiple-Out    -   NACK: Negative Acknowledge    -   NW: Network    -   OFDM: Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing    -   PCFICH: Physical Control Format Indicator Channel    -   PDCCH: Physical Downlink Control Channel    -   PDSCH: Physical Downlink Shared Channel    -   PDU: Protocol Data Unit    -   PHICH: Physical HARQ Indicator Channel    -   PUSCH: Physical Uplink Shared Channel    -   PHY: Physical (Layer)    -   QPSK: Quadrature Phase-Shift Keying    -   REG: Resource Element Group    -   RNTI: Radio Network Temporary Identifiers    -   RRC: Radio Resource Control    -   RSRP: Reference Signal Received Power    -   RSSI: Reference Signal Strength Indicator    -   RX: Reception    -   SINR: Signal-To-Interference-Plus-Noise Ratio    -   TB: Transport Blocks    -   TDD: Time Division Duplexing    -   TTI: Transmission Time Interval    -   TX: Transmission    -   UE: User Equipment    -   UL: Uplink (from UE to BS)    -   ULSCH: Uplink Shared Channel    -   UMTS: Universal Mobile Telecommunication System

Terms

The following is a glossary of terms that may appear in the presentapplication:

Memory Medium—Any of various types of memory devices or storage devices.The term “memory medium” is intended to include an installation medium,e.g., a CD-ROM, floppy disks, or tape device; a computer system memoryor random access memory such as DRAM, DDR RAM, SRAM, EDO RAM, RambusRAM, etc.; a non-transitory memory such as a Flash, magnetic media,e.g., a hard drive, or optical storage; registers, or other similartypes of memory elements, etc. The memory medium may comprise othertypes of memory as well or combinations thereof. In addition, the memorymedium may be located in a first computer system in which the programsare executed, or may be located in a second different computer systemwhich connects to the first computer system over a network, such as theInternet. In the latter instance, the second computer system may provideprogram instructions to the first computer system for execution. Theterm “memory medium” may include two or more memory mediums which mayreside in different locations, e.g., in different computer systems thatare connected over a network.

Carrier Medium—a memory medium as described above, as well as a physicaltransmission medium, such as a bus, network, and/or other physicaltransmission medium that conveys signals such as electrical,electromagnetic, or digital signals.

Computer System (or Computer)—any of various types of computing orprocessing systems, including a personal computer system (PC), mainframecomputer system, workstation, network appliance, Internet appliance,personal digital assistant (PDA), television system, grid computingsystem, or other device or combinations of devices. In general, the term“computer system” can be broadly defined to encompass any device (orcombination of devices) having at least one processor that executesinstructions from a memory medium.

User Equipment (UE) (or “UE Device”)—any of various types of computersystems devices which are mobile or portable and which performs wirelesscommunications. Examples of UE devices include mobile telephones orsmart phones (e.g., iPhone™, Android™-based phones), portable gamingdevices (e.g., Nintendo DS™, PlayStation Portable™, Gameboy Advance™,iPhone™), laptops, wearable devices (e.g. smart watch, smart glasses),PDAs, portable Internet devices, music players, data storage devices, orother handheld devices, etc. In general, the term “UE” or “UE device”can be broadly defined to encompass any electronic, computing, and/ortelecommunications device (or combination of devices) which is easilytransported by a user and capable of wireless communication.

Base Station (BS)—The term “Base Station” has the full breadth of itsordinary meaning, and at least includes a wireless communication stationinstalled at a fixed location and used to communicate as part of awireless telephone system or radio system.

Processing Element—refers to various elements or combinations ofelements that are capable of performing a function in a device, e.g. ina user equipment device or in a cellular network device. Processingelements may include, for example: processors and associated memory,portions or circuits of individual processor cores, entire processorcores, processor arrays, circuits such as ASICs (Application SpecificIntegrated Circuits), programmable hardware elements such as a fieldprogrammable gate array (FPGA), as well any of various combinations ofthe above.

Automatically—refers to an action or operation performed by a computersystem (e.g., software executed by the computer system) or device (e.g.,circuitry, programmable hardware elements, ASICs, etc.), without userinput directly specifying or performing the action or operation. Thusthe term “automatically” is in contrast to an operation being manuallyperformed or specified by the user, where the user provides input todirectly perform the operation. An automatic procedure may be initiatedby input provided by the user, but the subsequent actions that areperformed “automatically” are not specified by the user, i.e., are notperformed “manually”, where the user specifies each action to perform.For example, a user filling out an electronic form by selecting eachfield and providing input specifying information (e.g., by typinginformation, selecting check boxes, radio selections, etc.) is fillingout the form manually, even though the computer system must update theform in response to the user actions. The form may be automaticallyfilled out by the computer system where the computer system (e.g.,software executing on the computer system) analyzes the fields of theform and fills in the form without any user input specifying the answersto the fields. As indicated above, the user may invoke the automaticfilling of the form, but is not involved in the actual filling of theform (e.g., the user is not manually specifying answers to fields butrather they are being automatically completed). The presentspecification provides various examples of operations beingautomatically performed in response to actions the user has taken.

DCI—refers to downlink control information. There are various DCIformats used in LTE in PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel). TheDCI format is a predefined format in which the downlink controlinformation is packed/formed and transmitted in PDCCH.

FIGS. 1 and 2—Communication System

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary (and simplified) wireless communicationsystem. It is noted that the system of FIG. 1 is merely one example of apossible system, and embodiments may be implemented in any of varioussystems, as desired. As shown, the exemplary wireless communicationsystem includes a base station 102 which communicates over atransmission medium with one or more user devices 106A through 106N.Each of the user devices may be referred to herein as a “user equipment”(UE) or UE device. Thus, the user devices 106A-106N are referred to asUEs or UE devices. Furthermore, when referring to an individual UE ingeneral, user devices are also referenced herein as UE 106 or simply UE.

The base station 102 may be a base transceiver station (BTS) or cellsite, and may include hardware that enables wireless communication withthe UEs 106A through 106N. The base station 102 may also be equipped tocommunicate with a network 100 (e.g., a core network of a cellularservice provider, a telecommunication network such as a public switchedtelephone network (PSTN), and/or the Internet, among variouspossibilities). Thus, the base station 102 may facilitate communicationbetween the user devices and/or between the user devices and the network100. The communication area (or coverage area) of the base station maybe referred to as a “cell.” As also used herein, from the perspective ofUEs, a base station may sometimes be considered as representing thenetwork insofar as uplink and downlink communications of the UE areconcerned. Thus, a UE communicating with one or more base stations inthe network may also be interpreted as the UE communicating with thenetwork. It should also be noted that “cell” may also refer to a logicalidentity for a given coverage area at a given frequency. In general, anyindependent cellular wireless coverage area may be referred to as a“cell”. In such cases a base station may be situated at particularconfluences of three cells. The base station, in this uniform topologymay serve three 120-degree beam-width areas referenced as cells. Also,in case of carrier aggregation, small cells, relays, etc. may eachrepresent a cell. Thus, in carrier aggregation in particular, there maybe primary cells and secondary cells which may service at leastpartially overlapping coverage areas but on different respectivefrequencies. For example, a base station may serve any number of cells,and cells served by a base station may or may not be collocated (e.g.remote radio heads).

The base station 102 and the user devices may be configured tocommunicate over the transmission medium using any of various radioaccess technologies (RATs), also referred to as wireless communicationtechnologies, or telecommunication standards, such as GSM, UMTS (WCDMA),LTE, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1×RTT, 1×EV-DO, HRPD,eHRPD), Wi-Fi, WiMAX etc. In some embodiments, the base station 102communicates with at least one UE or a group of UEs using controlindicators for (or associated with) physical control channels asdisclosed herein.

UE 106 may be capable of communicating using multiple wirelesscommunication standards. For example, a UE 106 might be configured tocommunicate using either or both of a 3GPP cellular communicationstandard (such as LTE) or a 3GPP2 cellular communication standard (suchas a cellular communication standard in the CDMA2000 family of cellularcommunication standards), or a more recent communication standard suchas 5G-NR (NR). In some embodiments, the UE 106 may be configured tocommunicate with base station 102 using control indicators for (orcorresponding to/associated with) physical control channels as describedherein. Base station 102 and other similar base stations operatingaccording to the same or a different cellular communication standard maythus be provided as one or more networks of cells, which may providecontinuous or nearly continuous overlapping service to UE 106 andsimilar devices over a wide geographic area via one or more cellularcommunication standards.

The UE 106 might also or alternatively be configured to communicateusing WLAN, Bluetooth, one or more global navigational satellite systems(GNSS, e.g., GPS or GLONASS), one and/or more mobile televisionbroadcasting standards (e.g., ATSC-M/H or DVB-H), etc. Othercombinations of wireless communication standards (including more thantwo wireless communication standards) are also possible.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary system in which user equipment 106(e.g., one of the devices 106A through 106N) is in communication withthe base station 102. The UE 106 may be a device with wireless networkconnectivity such as a mobile phone, a hand-held device, a wearabledevice, a computer or a tablet, or virtually any type of wirelessdevice. The UE 106 may include a processor that is configured to executeprogram instructions stored in memory. The UE 106 may perform any of themethod embodiments described herein by executing such storedinstructions. Alternatively, or in addition, the UE 106 may include aprogrammable hardware element such as an FPGA (field-programmable gatearray) that is configured to perform any of the method embodiments ofproviding control indicators for (or corresponding to/associated with)physical control channels as described herein, or any portion of any ofthe method embodiments of providing control indicators for (orcorresponding to/associated with) physical control channels describedherein. The UE 106 may be configured to communicate using any ofmultiple wireless communication protocols. For example, the UE 106 maybe configured to communicate using two or more of CDMA2000, LTE, LTE-A,WLAN, 5G-NR (NR) or GNSS. Other combinations of wireless communicationstandards are also possible.

The UE 106 may include one or more antennas for communicating using oneor more wireless communication protocols. In some embodiments, the UE106 may share one or more parts of a receive chain and/or transmit chainbetween multiple wireless communication standards. The shared radio mayinclude a single antenna, or may include multiple antennas (e.g., forMIMO) for performing wireless communications. Alternatively, the UE 106may include separate transmit and/or receive chains (e.g., includingseparate antennas and other radio components) for each wirelesscommunication protocol with which it is configured to communicate. Asanother alternative, the UE 106 may include one or more radios which areshared between multiple wireless communication protocols, and one ormore radios which are used exclusively by a single wirelesscommunication protocol. For example, the UE 106 may include radiocircuitries for communicating using either LTE or CDMA2000 1×RTT or5G-NR (NR), and/or communicating using each of Wi-Fi and BLUETOOTH™.Other configurations are also possible.

FIG. 3—Exemplary Block Diagram of a UE

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a UE 106. As shown, theUE 106 may include a system on chip (SOC) 300, which may includeportions for various purposes. For example, as shown, the SOC 300 mayinclude processor(s) 302 which may execute program instructions for theUE 106 and display circuitry 304 which may perform graphics processingand provide display signals to the display 360. The processor(s) 302 mayalso be coupled to memory management unit (MMU) 340, which may beconfigured to receive addresses from the processor(s) 302 and translatethose addresses to locations in memory (e.g., memory 306, read onlymemory (ROM) 350, NAND flash memory 310) and/or to other circuits ordevices, such as the display circuitry 304, radio 330, connector I/F320, and/or display 360. The MMU 340 may be configured to perform memoryprotection and page table translation or set up. In some embodiments,the MMU 340 may be included as a portion of the processor(s) 302.

As shown, the SOC 300 may be coupled to various other circuits of the UE106. For example, the UE 106 may include various types of memory (e.g.,including NAND flash 310), a connector interface 320 (e.g., for couplingto the computer system), the display 360, and wireless communicationcircuitry 330 (e.g., for LTE, LTE-A, 5G-NR (NR), CDMA2000, BLUETOOTH™,Wi-Fi, GPS, etc.). The UE device 106 may include at least one antenna335, and possibly multiple antennas 335, for performing wirelesscommunication with base stations and/or other devices. For example, theUE device 106 may use antenna(s) 335 to perform the wirelesscommunication. As noted above, the UE may be configured to communicatewirelessly using multiple wireless communication standards in someembodiments.

As described further subsequently herein, the UE 106 and base station102 may both include hardware and software components for implementing amethod for providing control indicators for (or corresponding to, orassociated with) physical control channels for wireless communications,e.g. 5G-NR (NR) communications. For example, the processor 302 of the UEdevice 106 may be configured to implement part or all of the methods ofproviding control indicators for (or corresponding to, or associatedwith) physical control channels for wireless communications describedherein, e.g., by executing program instructions stored on a memorymedium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Inother embodiments, processor 302 may be configured as a programmablehardware element, such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or asan ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). Furthermore,processor 302 may be coupled to and/or may interoperate with othercomponents, such as Radio 330, as shown in FIG. 3, to implementprovisioning control indicators for (or corresponding to, or associatedwith) physical control channels, according to various embodimentsdisclosed herein.

FIG. 4—Exemplary Block Diagram of a Base Station

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a base station 102. Itis noted that the base station of FIG. 4 is merely one example of apossible base station. As shown, the base station 102 may includeprocessor(s) 404 which may execute program instructions for the basestation 102. The processor(s) 404 may also be coupled to memorymanagement unit (MMU) 440, which may be configured to receive addressesfrom the processor(s) 404 and translate those addresses to locations inmemory (e.g., memory 460 and read only memory (ROM) 450) or to othercircuits or devices.

The base station 102 may include at least one network port 470. Thenetwork port 470 may be configured to couple to a telephone network andprovide a plurality of devices, such as UE devices 106, access to thetelephone network as described above in FIGS. 1 and 2. The network port470 (or an additional network port) may also or alternatively beconfigured to couple to a cellular network, e.g., a core network of acellular service provider. The core network may provide mobility relatedservices and/or other services to a plurality of devices, such as UEdevices 106. In some cases, the network port 470 may couple to atelephone network via the core network, and/or the core network mayprovide a telephone network (e.g., among other UE devices serviced bythe cellular service provider). The core network may provide mobilityrelated services and/or other services to a plurality of devices, suchas UE devices 106. In some cases, the network port 470 may couple to atelephone network via the core network, and/or the core network mayprovide a telephone network (e.g., among other UE devices serviced bythe cellular service provider).

The base station 102 may include at least one antenna 434, and possiblymultiple antennas 434. The antenna(s) 434 may be configured to operateas a wireless transceiver and may be further configured to communicatewith UE devices 106 via radio 430. The antenna 434 communicates with theradio 430 via communication chain 432. Communication chain 432 may be areceive chain, a transmit chain or both (e.g. a transceiver). The radio430 may be configured to communicate via various wirelesstelecommunication standards, including, but not limited to, LTE, LTE-AWCDMA, CDMA2000, 5G-NR (NR), etc. Thus, base station 102 may be an eNB,gNB, etc. The processor(s) 404 of the base station 102 may be configuredto implement part or all of the methods described herein for providingcontrol indicators for (or corresponding to, or associated with)physical control channels, e.g., by executing program instructionsstored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readablememory medium). Alternatively, the processor(s) 404 may be configured asa programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (Field ProgrammableGate Array), or as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), ora combination thereof. Overall, the various components (460, 450, 440,404, 430, 432, 470 and 434) of BS 102 may interoperate to implement atleast part or all of the methods described herein for providing controlindicators for (or corresponding to/associated with) physical controlchannels.

Blind Decoding in Wireless Communications (e.g. in NR Communications)

As previously mentioned, in a proposed transition to NR communications,efforts are being made to reduce blind decoding attempts of a wirelesscommunication device (UE) for conserving/saving power of the UE. Atypical UE using applications for text messaging, video streaming, andweb-browsing, just to name a few applications, consumes a significantamount of time and power for decoding PDCCH without actually receivingdata. The amount of time/power used for data reception is relativelysmall compared to the time used for PDCCH decoding only. For example, asignificant portion of battery power is used for decoding PDCCH withoutsubsequently decoding PDSCH. Consequently, the large number of blinddecoding attempts a UE may make is one contributing factor of high powerconsumption by the UE.

The impact of downlink (DL) reception energy consumption may beconsidered in the context of total power consumption of a UE. Forexample, power consumption of a UE may be considered in the followingcontexts:

-   -   decode power consumption in the physical layer for DL-control        blind decoding, not yielding a grant;    -   decode power consumption in the slot with the data;    -   decode power consumption during the data reception process;    -   decode power consumption during the measurement;    -   decode power consumption in the search space (SS).        Efforts are also being made to reduce blind decoding attempts in        group-common PDCCH designs. The fact that a group-common PDCCH        can carry information that is common to multiple UEs may be used        for the reduction of potential blind decoding attempts for UEs.

The PDCCH may be transmitted in the common search space and/or inUE-specific search space. Common control information for all UEs istransmitted through PDCCH in common search space. UE-specific controlinformation is transmitted through PDCCH in UE-specific search space.When a UE is in connected mode (e.g. with/without Connected-ModeDiscontinuous Reception, or C-DRX, communications), the UE is expectedto monitor the PDCCH every slot to check whether a corresponding PDSCHexists. That is, the UE may monitor the PDCCH every slot to determine ifthere is a corresponding PDSCH (e.g. a PDSCH corresponding to orassociated with the UE) for the UE to decode. Monitoring the PDCCHrequires the UE to perform blind decoding both in common space and theUE-specific search space (with the UE-specific search spacecorresponding to or associated with the UE performing the decoding). TheUE may perform a specified number (e.g. a designated maximum number) ofblind decoding attempts, which may result in the UE consuming asignificant amount of power (all the while not receiving any data), ifthere is actually no PDCCH scheduled for the UE.

Accordingly, various methods are disclosed herein to reduce theprobability of the UE performing blind decoding of the PDCCH (or simplyreduce the instances of the UE performing blind decoding of the PDCCH)in cases where there are no PDCCH/PDSCH scheduled for the UE. This mayreduce power consumption and increase the battery life of the battery(or batteries) powering the UE.

Slot Scheduling

Various embodiments disclosed herein may take advantage of differentslot scheduling mechanisms to reduce unnecessary blind decoding by theUE. In cellular radio communications, signal and data transmissions maybe organized according to designated time units of specific durationduring which individual transmissions take place. For example, in LTE,transmissions are divided into radio frames, each radio frame being ofequal (time) duration (e.g. each radio frame may be 10 ms). Each radioframe in LTE may be further divided into ten subframes, each subframebeing of equal duration, with the subframes designated as the smallest(minimum) scheduling unit, or the designated time unit for atransmission. Similarly, a smallest (or minimum) scheduling unit, ordesignated time unit for 5G-NR (NR) transmissions is referred to as a“slot”. Accordingly, as used herein, the term “slot” is used toreference a smallest (or minimum) scheduling time unit or a designatedtime unit for transmission for the wireless communications beingdescribed. However, as noted above, in different communication protocolssuch a scheduling time unit may be named differently, (e.g. a “subframe”in LTE), and furthermore such a scheduling time unit may be moregenerally referred to as a transmission time interval (TTI).

FIG. 5 shows a block diagram illustrating same-slot scheduling 152 andcross-slot scheduling 154 for PDCCH and PDSCH transmissions, accordingto some embodiments. In the case of same-slot scheduling 152, PDCCH 110and corresponding or associated PDSCH 112 are transmitted in the sameslot (or during the same slot). In the case of cross-slot scheduling154, each PDCCH (114, 118, and 122) is transmitted ahead of itscorresponding or associated PDSCH (120, 124, and not shown,respectively). As seen in FIG. 5, PDSCH 116 is associated with a PDCCHsent in a previous slot, namely slot n−2. Accordingly, PDCCH 114 istransmitted in slot n−1 while its associated PDSCH 120 is transmitted inslot n, and similarly, PDCCH 118 is transmitted in slot n while itsassociated PDSCH 124 is transmitted in slot n+1. The PDSCH correspondingto PDCCH 122 and the PDCCH corresponding to PDSCH 116 are not shown.

With cross-slot scheduling 154, the UE may reduce its PDCCH monitoringbandwidth (BW), which may potentially save UE power due to reducedsampling rate and processing overhead. When receiving PDSCH, the UE mayreceive the data at a specified (e.g. maximum) radio frequency (RF)bandwidth for high data rate transmit/receive (TX/RX). The PDCCH istypically transmitted in narrow bandwidth or narrowband (NB), while thePDSCH is transmitted in wide bandwidth or wideband (WB) which supportsthe higher data rates. By reducing the bandwidth (BW) for monitoring thePDCCH, the UE may save power. Cross-slot scheduling allows the UE tomonitor for PDCCH in NB since the PDSCH, should an associated PDSCHexist, is transmitted in the next slot. If there is no associated PDSCHfor a given decoded PDCCH, then the UE may continue operating in the NB,saving power. If there is an associated PDSCH, the BW may be widened toreceive the PDSCH. Opening the BW requires some time, which may provedifficult in a single slot. However, with cross-slot scheduling, the UEmay open up the BW in the slot in which PDSCH is to be decoded and whichis subsequent to the slot in which the PDCCH was decoded.

PDCCH Indication

As previously mentioned, in case there is no PDCCH scheduled for an LTEUE, the UE may make numerous blind decoding attempts that areunnecessary. The number of decoding attempts made for PDCCH candidates(e.g. up to 44) and the corresponding computational overhead may changedepending on the communication levels/channel conditions and existence(or availability) of PDCCH. If a PDCCH intended for a UE is transmitted,then the UE may perform blind decoding on the available candidate PDCCHsone candidate PDCCH at a time until the PDCCH associated with (intendedfor or corresponding to) the UE is detected. Consequently, if no PDCCHfor that UE is transmitted, the UE makes a specified number (e.g.maximum number) of possible blind decoding attempts because it does notrecognize whether a PDCCH intended for the UE has been transmitted, andthose blind decoding attempts performed by the UE are consideredunnecessary.

Therefore, in NR communications, one goal is to reduce unnecessary blinddecoding attempts. In some embodiments, unnecessary blind decodingattempts for a UE may be avoided by introducing a certain type of signalfrom a base station (e.g. from a gNB) to the UE indicating the presenceof PDCCH scheduled for the UE in the slot, e.g. the presence of a PDCCHintended for the UE in the slot. Thus, if a UE recognizes that anindicator associated with (or corresponding to, or intended for) the UEsignals to the UE that a PDCCH for the UE is present in the slot, thenthe UE may perform blind decoding to detect any PDCCH among thedifferent PDCCH candidates in (or during) the slot. If the UE finds thatthe indicator in fact signals the absence of a PDCCH for the UE, thenthe UE may stop decoding and/or enter a sleep state until the next slot,when the UE may be scheduled again. Using this approach, the UE mayavoid making unnecessary PDCCH decoding attempts and save energy.

The indication (or indicator) may be transmitted by the base stationper-UE or per-group. If the indication (indicator) is transmittedper-UE, then each UE in a cell may receive one indicator which signalsthe presence of a PDCCH (or lack thereof) for the UE. All thenon-scheduled UEs (UEs for which no PDCCH is transmitted) whichcorrectly decode the indication information (or indicator) may therebyavoid unnecessary blind decoding. If the indication (indicator) istransmitted per-group (where the group includes at least two UEs), thenUEs in the group may perform blind decoding upon receiving an indication(indicator) that signals the presence of PDCCH for the group. Since suchan indicator is a group indicator, there may be certain UEs in the groupreceiving the control information even though no PDCCH for those UEs wastransmitted. If the indicator indicates (or signals) that there is noPDCCH for the group, then UEs in the group may stop decoding and/orenter a sleep state for the remaining duration of the slot.

Accordingly, in some embodiments, UEs which communicate with the networkmay be arranged into groups, e.g. by a base station (such as a gNB),where each group may include one or more UEs. In each slot, controlindicator information may be transmitted to each group (e.g. by thegNB), with the control indicator information indicating the presence ofPDCCH (or absence thereof) in the associated slot for any of UEs in thegiven group. If a UE determines that the indicator for its groupindicates the presence of PDCCH, then the UE may perform blind decodingattempts in the associated slot. If a given (or respective) UEidentifies a PDCCH intended for the given UE, then the given UE maydecode the corresponding or associated PDSCH (the PDSCH associated withor corresponding to the decoded PDCCH). If the UE determines that theindicator for its group indicates the absence of PDCCH in the associatedslot, then the UE may skip the blind decoding in the associated slot.

Carrying (Transmitting) Control Indicator Information

Multiple options for physical channel structure carrying the controlindicator information during transmissions are possible and arecontemplated. In some embodiments, the control indicator information(bits) may be added in one or more preexisting (other) channels toinformation already included in those other channels. For example,“group common PDCCH” (GCP) is a separate channel transmitted onpreconfigured time frequency resources. The GCP carries slot formatindicator information, and because it is decoded by all UEs prior to theUEs decoding other channels, it may be practical to include the controlindicators in this channel.

In some embodiments, a separate channel may be designated for carryingcontrol indicator information. For example, a PDCCH-like channelstructure may be used, which may be monitored by all the UEs. In someembodiments, an altogether new channel may be designed and transmittedover narrowband (NB). The newly designed channel may be transmittedeither in the same slot as the PDCCH, or in a different slot. In casethe new channel is transmitted over NB, in a slot other than (orseparate from) the slot in which PDCCH is transmitted, then the UE mayreceive a narrowband signal in a separate slot and determine whether tocontinue receiving a PDCCH in the next slot. This may not only allow theUE to avoid unnecessary blind decoding but may also allow the UE to savepower by minimizing the monitoring BW utilized by the UE. In someembodiments, the UE may have separate stand-alone circuitry dedicated tomonitoring the NB to further save power.

Control Indicator Information Transmission Options

In some embodiments, at least four different transmission schemes oroptions may be defined and used for transmitting the control indicatorinformation. The transmission schemes, or options may be based on thetiming of the control indicator information and physical control channel(e.g. NR-PDCCH) with respect to each other, and the timing of thephysical control channel (e.g. NR-PDCCH) and the physical data channel(e.g. NR-PDSCH) with respect to each other. Accordingly, fourtransmission options may be defined:

-   -   Option 1: the control indicator information and the physical        control channel are transmitted in the same slot, and the        physical control channel and the physical data channel are        transmitted according to same-slot scheduling (e.g. per FIG. 6)    -   Option 2: the control indicator information and the physical        control channel are transmitted in the same slot, and the        physical control channel and the physical data channel are        transmitted according to cross-slot scheduling (e.g. per FIG. 7)    -   Option 3: the control indicator information and the physical        control channel are transmitted in different slots, and the        physical control channel and the physical data channel are        transmitted according to same-slot scheduling (e.g. per FIG. 8)    -   Option 4: the control indicator information and the physical        control channel are transmitted in different slots, and the        physical control channel and the physical data channel are        transmitted according to cross-slot scheduling (e.g. per FIG.        9).

Option 1

FIG. 6 shows an exemplary timing diagram illustrating transmission ofthe control indicator information in same-slot scheduling, with thecontrol indicator information and physical control channel transmittedin the same slot, according to some embodiments. As seen in FIG. 6, byway of example, the UEs have been arranged into three groups. To put itanother way, in the exemplary embodiments represented in FIG. 6, thenetwork may presently include three groups of UEs. Group A={UE1, UE2},Group B={UE5}, and Group C={UE10}. As shown in FIG. 6, the data for UE1,UE2 and UE5 are scheduled (e.g. by the network or base station) in slotn (202). The corresponding PDCCH for UE1, UE2, and UE5 are transmittedin the control resource set (portion 204) of the slot 202. The controlindicator information for groups A, B, and C is set to ON, ON, and OFFrespectively. In other words, the control indicator information forgroups A and B indicates that PDCCH for the group is present, while thecontrol indicator information for group C indicates that PDCCH for thegroup is absent. UE1 and UE2 detect that the respective indicator for(or corresponding to) group A, of which UE1 and UE2 are a part, is ON,and similarly, UE5 also detects that the respective indicator for (orcorresponding to) group B, of which UE5 is a part, is ON. Accordingly,UE1, UE2, and UE5 all perform blind decoding to receive their respectivePDCCHs. On the other hand, UE10 detects that the indicator for (orcorresponding to) group C, of which UE10 is a part, is OFF, and therebyavoids unnecessary blind decoding. UE10 may enter sleep mode until thenext slot when UE10 could be potentially be scheduled again. As alsoshown in FIG. 6, all the UEs use a wideband filter in every slot.Furthermore, as also illustrated in FIG. 6, subsequent to havingperformed blind decoding and receiving their respective PDCCHs, UE1,UE2, and UE5 may then decode their corresponding (associated) PDSCHs inthe data region (portion 206) of the slot 202. As also indicated in FIG.6, example physical channels that may carry the indicator informationmay include group-common PDCCH, NR-PDCCH, and/or a newly designatedchannel specifically for carrying the indicator (information). Theexample physical channels equally apply to the scenarios illustrated inFIGS. 7-9, which are described in further detail below.

Option 2

FIG. 7 shows an exemplary timing diagram illustrating transmission ofthe control indicator information in cross-slot scheduling, with thecontrol indicator information and physical control channel transmittedin the same slot 302, according to some embodiments. Since the controland data channels are transmitted according to (or in) cross-slotscheduling, the data region (portion 308) of slot 302 contains notransmission(s) corresponding to the illustrated control channels. Asseen in FIG. 7, by way of example, the UEs have again been arranged intothree groups. That is, the network may again include three groups ofUEs. Group A={UE1, UE2}, Group B={UE5}, and Group C={UE10}. PDCCH forUE1, UE2 and UE5 is transmitted (e.g. by the network or base station) inslot n (302) in the control resource set (portion 306) of the slot 302using narrowband BW2. Accordingly, the control indicator information forgroups A, B, and C are set to ON, ON, and OFF, respectively, in slot n(302). In other words, the control indicator information for groups Aand B indicates that PDCCH for the group is present, while the controlindicator information for group C indicates that PDCCH for the group isabsent.

The corresponding PDSCHs for UE1, UE2, and UE5 are transmitted in slotn+K 304 (where K=1, 2, 3, etc). Again, UE1 and UE2 detect that therespective indicator for (or corresponding to) group A, of which UE1 andUE2 are a part, is ON, and similarly, UE5 also detects that therespective indicator for (or corresponding to) group B, of which UE5 isa part, is ON. Thus, UE1, UE2, and UE5 all perform blind decoding toreceive their respective PDCCH. On the other hand, UE10 detects that theindicator for (or corresponding to) group C, of which UE10 is a part, isOFF, and thereby avoids unnecessary blind decoding. UE10 may again entersleep mode until the next slot when UE10 could be potentially bescheduled again. In addition, UE10 saves additional power by receivingthe signal carrying the control indicator information in a narrowbandwidth (BW2). Furthermore, as also illustrated in FIG. 7, subsequentto having performed blind decoding and receiving their respectivePDCCHs, UE1, UE2, and UE5 may then decode their corresponding(associated) PDSCHs in the data region (portion 312) of the next slot304. As shown in FIG. 7, no transmission(s) take place in the controlresource set (portion 310) of slot 304.

Option 3

FIG. 8 shows an exemplary timing diagram illustrating transmission ofthe control indicator information in same-slot scheduling, with thecontrol indicator information and physical control channel transmittedin different slots, according to some embodiments. As seen in FIG. 8, byway of example, the UEs have again been arranged into three groups. Thatis, the network may again include three groups of UEs. Group A={UE1,UE2}, Group B={UE5}, and Group C={UE10}. The data for UE1, UE2 and UE5are scheduled (e.g. by the network or base station) in slot n 404, morespecifically in the data region (portion 408) of slot n 404. Thecorresponding PDCCH for UE1, UE2, and UE5 are transmitted in the controlresource set (portion 406) of slot n 404. However, the control indicatorinformation is transmitted in slot n−1 402, that is, in a slot (402)other than (or separate) from the slot (404) in which the PDCCHs aretransmitted. Thus, the control indicator information for groups A, B,and C (set to ON, ON, and OFF respectively) are transmitted throughnarrowband (of bandwidth BW1). In some embodiments, the controlindicator information may be a form of sequence for energy detection orcontrol information with a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) in asmall number of subcarriers. Each UE may be aware of the exact narrowband location of bandwidth BW1 where its control indicator istransmitted. Each UE may filter out its narrowband of bandwidth BW1using a respective narrowband filter, and may thus receive itscorresponding group's control indicator information.

Again, UE1 and UE2 detect that the respective indicator for (orcorresponding to) group A, of which UE1 and UE2 are a part, is ON, andsimilarly, UE5 also detects that the respective indicator for (orcorresponding to) group B, of which UE5 is a part, is ON. That is, U1,U2, and U5 detect that the control indicator information for theirrespective groups indicates that PDCCH for the group is present.Accordingly, UE1, UE2, and UE5 all perform blind decoding to receivetheir respective PDCCH. On the other hand, UE10 detects that theindicator for (or corresponding to) group C, of which UE10 is a part, isOFF. That is, U10 detects that the control indicator information for itsrespective group indicates that PDCCH for the group is absent, andthereby avoids unnecessary blind decoding. UE10 may therefore entersleep mode until the next slot when UE10 could be potentially bescheduled again. As seen in FIG. 8, BW1 is less than or equal to BW3.Therefore, UE10 may save additional power by receiving a signal within anarrower band (of bandwidth BW1 narrower than BW2 shown for Option 2 inFIG. 7) in addition to avoiding unnecessary blind decoding.

Option 4

FIG. 9 shows an exemplary timing diagram illustrating transmission ofthe control indicator information in cross-slot scheduling, with thecontrol indicator information and physical control channel transmittedin different slots, according to some embodiments. Since the control anddata channels are transmitted according to (or in) cross-slotscheduling, the data region (portion 510) of slot 504 contains notransmission(s) corresponding to the illustrated control channels. Asseen in FIG. 8, by way of example, the UEs have again been arranged intothree groups. That is, the network may again include three groups ofUEs. Group A={UE1, UE2}, Group B={UE5}, and Group C={UE10}. The PDCCHfor UE1, UE2, and UE5 are transmitted in the control resource set(portion 508) of slot n 504. The control indicator information istransmitted in slot n-L 502 (where L=1, 2, 3, etc.), that is, in a slot(502) other than (or separate from) the slot (504) in which the PDCCHsare transmitted, and also different from the slot (506) in which thecorresponding PDSCHs (or data) are transmitted. As shown, thecorresponding PDSCHs for UE1, UE2, and UE5 are transmitted in slot n+K506 (where K=1, 2, 3, etc.).

The control indicator information for groups A, B, and C are set to ON,ON, and OFF respectively. That is, the control indicator information forgroups A and B indicates that PDCCH for the group is present, while thecontrol indicator information for group C indicates that PDCCH for thegroup is absent. Again, UE1 and UE2 detect that the respective indicatorfor (or corresponding to) group A, of which UE1 and UE2 are a part, isON, and similarly, UE5 also detects that the respective indicator for(or corresponding to) group B, of which UE5 is a part, is ON.Accordingly, UE1, UE2, and UE5 all perform blind decoding to receivetheir respective PDCCH. On the other hand, UE10 detects that theindicator for (or corresponding to) group C, of which UE10 is a part, isOFF, and thereby avoids unnecessary blind decoding.

During slot n-L 502, each UE may receive a signal of a narrowerbandwidth (BW1) to receive the control indicator information. Duringslot n 504, each UE may receive a signal of a narrowband (BW2) toreceive PDCCH. During slot n+K (specifically in/during data regionportion 514), each UE may receive a signal of full bandwidth (BW3) toreceive PDSCH. As indicated in FIG. 9, BW1<=BW2<=BW3. Thus, UE10, whichdoes not have any PDCCH/PDSCH scheduled, may minimize power consumptionby avoiding unnecessary blind decoding while also operating in thenarrower bandwidth (of bandwidth BW1). As shown in FIG. 9, notransmission(s) take place in the control resource set (portion 512) ofslot 506.

It should also be noted that the method and options described above maybe applicable to UEs operating in IDLE mode, and UEs operating inConnected DRX mode. While FIGS. 6 to 9 show control indicatorstransmitted inside the bandwidth where the UE may potentially receivedata, the method and options described above may also be applicable tocases where the bandwidth used for potential control indicatortransmission does not overlap with the bandwidth used for potential datatransmission.

Wireless Communication Device Performing Blind Decoding

Pursuant to the above, FIG. 10 shows a flow diagram illustrating amethod for a wireless communication device to perform blind decoding ofphysical control channels, according to some embodiments. A wirelesscommunication device conducting wireless communications according to anyof various wireless communication standards, e.g. according to NRcellular standards, may receive control indicator information, e.g. froma base station, indicating whether one or more candidate physicalcontrol channels are available to the wireless communication device fordecoding (1002). If the received control indicator indicates that one ormore candidate physical control channels are available (“Yes” branchtaken at 1004), the wireless communication device may blind decode thecandidate physical control channels to detect and receive a respectivephysical control channel intended for the wireless communication device(1006). If the received control indicator indicates that no candidatephysical control channels are available (“No” branch taken at 1004), thewireless communication device does not perform blind decoding on thecandidate physical control channels (1008), and may enter a sleep stateuntil the next slot where the wireless communication device may bescheduled again (1010).

Embodiments of the present invention may be realized in any of variousforms. For example, in some embodiments, the present invention may berealized as a computer-implemented method, a computer-readable memorymedium, or a computer system. In other embodiments, the presentinvention may be realized using one or more custom-designed hardwaredevices such as ASICs. In other embodiments, the present invention maybe realized using one or more programmable hardware elements such asFPGAs.

In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium(e.g., a non-transitory memory element) may be configured so that itstores program instructions and/or data, where the program instructions,if executed by a computer system, cause the computer system to perform amethod, e.g., any of a method embodiments described herein, or, anycombination of the method embodiments described herein, or, any subsetof any of the method embodiments described herein, or, any combinationof such subsets.

In some embodiments, a device (e.g., a UE) may be configured to includea processor (or a set of processors) and a memory medium (or memoryelement), where the memory medium stores program instructions, where theprocessor is configured to read and execute the program instructionsfrom the memory medium, where the program instructions are executable toimplement any of the various method embodiments described herein (or,any combination of the method embodiments described herein, or, anysubset of any of the method embodiments described herein, or, anycombination of such subsets). The device may be realized in any ofvarious forms.

Although the embodiments above have been described in considerabledetail, numerous variations and modifications will become apparent tothose skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated.It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to embrace allsuch variations and modifications.

1. An apparatus comprising: a processor configured to cause a wirelessstation to: conduct wireless communications over a network; when thewireless station intends to transmit a first physical control channelfor a device on the network: transmit the first physical controlchannel; and transmit, as part of the wireless communications, controlindicator information indicating that the first physical control channelis present among one or more candidate physical control channelsavailable to the device for decoding; and do not transmit the controlindicator information and the first physical control channel when thewireless station does not intend to transmit the first physical controlchannel for the device.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein theprocessor is configured to cause the wireless station to transmit thecontrol indicator information in one of: a first slot different from asecond slot in which corresponding physical control channels aretransmitted; or the second slot.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, whereinthe processor is configured to cause the wireless station to transmit arespective physical data channel corresponding to the first physicalcontrol channel for the device.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein theprocessor is configured to cause the wireless station to transmit therespective physical data channel in one of: a first slot different froma second slot in which corresponding physical data channels aretransmitted; or the second slot.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, whereinthe device is part of a specified group of devices, wherein thetransmitted control indicator information is for all devices in thespecified group.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor isconfigured to cause the wireless station to transmit the controlindicator information carried in one of: a first channel that alsoincludes other information; or a second channel dedicated to carryingthe control indicator information.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6, whereinthe processor is configured to cause the wireless station to transmitthe second channel over narrowband.
 8. A wireless station comprising:radio circuitry configured to facilitate wireless communications of thewireless station; and a processor communicatively coupled to the radiocircuitry and configured to cause the wireless station to: when thewireless station intends to transmit a first physical control channelfor a device: transmit the first physical control channel; and transmit,as part of the wireless communications, control indicator informationindicating that the first physical control channel is present among oneor more candidate physical control channels available to the device fordecoding; and do not transmit the control indicator information and thefirst physical control channel when the wireless station does not intendto transmit the first physical control channel for the device.
 9. Thewireless station of claim 8, wherein the processor is configured tocause the wireless station to transmit the control indicator informationin one of: a first slot different from a second slot in whichcorresponding physical control channels are transmitted; or the secondslot.
 10. The wireless station of claim 8, wherein the processor isconfigured to cause the wireless station to transmit a respectivephysical data channel corresponding to the first physical controlchannel for the device.
 11. The wireless station of claim 10, whereinthe processor is configured to cause the wireless station to transmitthe respective physical data channel in one of: a first slot differentfrom a second slot in which corresponding physical data channels aretransmitted; or the second slot.
 12. The wireless station of claim 8,wherein the device is part of a specified group of devices, wherein thetransmitted control indicator information is for all devices in thespecified group.
 13. The wireless station of claim 8, wherein theprocessor is configured to cause the wireless station to transmit thecontrol indicator information carried in one of: a first channel thatalso includes other information; or a second channel dedicated tocarrying the control indicator information.
 14. The wireless station ofclaim 13, wherein the processor is configured to cause the wirelessstation to transmit the second channel over narrowband.
 15. Anon-transitory memory element storing instructions executable by aprocessor to cause a wireless station to: conduct wirelesscommunications over a network; when the wireless station intends totransmit a first physical control channel for a device on the network:transmit the first physical control channel; and transmit, as part ofthe wireless communications, control indicator information indicatingthat the first physical control channel is present among one or morecandidate physical control channels available to the device fordecoding; and do not transmit the control indicator information and thefirst physical control channel when the wireless station does not intendto transmit the first physical control channel for the device.
 16. Thenon-transitory memory element of claim 15, wherein the instructions areexecutable by the processor to cause the wireless station to transmitthe control indicator information in one of: a first slot different froma second slot in which corresponding physical control channels aretransmitted; or the second slot.
 17. The non-transitory memory elementof claim 15, wherein the instructions are executable by the processor tocause the wireless station to transmit a respective physical datachannel corresponding to the first physical control channel for thedevice.
 18. The non-transitory memory element of claim 17, wherein theinstructions are executable by the processor to cause the wirelessstation to transmit the respective physical data channel in one of: afirst slot different from a second slot in which corresponding physicaldata channels are transmitted; or the second slot.
 19. Thenon-transitory memory element of claim 15, wherein the device is part ofa specified group of devices, wherein the transmitted control indicatorinformation is for all devices in the specified group.
 20. Thenon-transitory memory element of claim 15, wherein the instructions areexecutable by the processor to cause the wireless station to transmitthe control indicator information carried in one of: a channel that alsoincludes other information; or a narrowband channel dedicated tocarrying the control indicator information.